


Funeral

by Paradelle



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Death, No Romance, implied sam/danny, no real happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 07:27:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11709684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paradelle/pseuds/Paradelle
Summary: A story about moving on.





	Funeral

**Author's Note:**

> I'm transferring all of my old stories from fanfiction.net to my account here. This is an oldie but a goodie, and I revised it the best that I could. Hope you enjoy!

It was a beautiful day.

But not a day for a funeral.

Bees buried their fuzzy yellow bodies into the bright, fresh roses. Brown sparrows glided lazily overhead, occasionally diving downwards for the various bugs and worms. A brown, bushy-tailed squirrel fled up a tree, chittering and skittish. A shiny black beetle scuttled past the funeral director’s toes and vanished into the thick blades of grass. Dew glistened in the morning sun as the scent of cut grass penetrated those attending noses.

It was offensively colorful, Danny mulled. Today shouldn’t be perfect, bright or peaceful. It should be dark, gloomy, and everything that reflected his current mood.

Danny’s eyes fixated to his family. They weren’t holding together well, their eyes captured a glossy wetness to them. Danny contemplated running over to them to embrace them into a warm and suffocating hug. _Everything is alright,_ he’d say. He’d remind them to smile.

But he didn’t.

Instead, Danny chose to remove himself from any human contact, and preferred to remain invisible. His thoughts began to drift as a pastor preached their ongoing sermon, until he was lost in his memories.

One time when he was ten or so, without prior notice, his mother woke him up and dragged his heavy-eyed self halfway across Amity Park. He was wearing NASA footie pajamas with blue slippers. They arrived at the top of a hill overlooking the city—a lookout that was popular for stargazing. At the very top, he was at the center of the universe. The black abyss with the mass of glittering stars laid out endlessly above him. Shooting stars flew above his head, and he felt like he could almost touch them.

Now that he was older, the hills that once gave him that taste of peace was nothing more than graffitied parking garages and apartment buildings that shot up overnight.

After hearing about the destruction of his stargazing spot, his mother scooped him up into her arms and reminded him to smile. She had said that these things happen, and it’s time to move on. His dad and sister noticed him sniveling like a baby, so his dad took them all out for ice cream (and fudge). They let Danny have whatever he wanted, and he and Jazz actually got along for once. Even if his stargazing spot will never be the same, he still remembered the happy moments with his family. He tried to hold onto those happy moments on this dreadful day.

Danny was pulled from his reminiscing as the pastor gave their final words before the casket would be lowered six feet under. Danny raised up a single smashed rose, looking worse for wear as he did. The petals were slightly shriveled, and some were missing, but it was a pretty rose nonetheless.

His family, distant and close, and his friends all tossed their own roses and petals into the ground, so Danny followed suit. The rose disappeared into the grave as it landed limply onto the lowering casket.

Transfixed on the gravestone, he didn’t acknowledge when people began to take their leave. Time passed, the sun casting its orange rays onto the half-lit grave, casting a long shadow onto the grass. Stars began to sparkle into existence, making the sky a mix of light and dark, yet Danny still had not moved an inch.

A soft breeze blew from behind him, as if acknowledging the presence of an old friend come to visit.

“It’s time to go, Danny,” Clockwork spoke, no edge to his voice as he calmly addressed the teen boy.

Danny paused, as if waiting for the chilled winds to ruffle his hair, but he felt nothing. Danny shrugged.

“…Yeah.”

He would have given anything to be with his friends right now. They would play video games, watch movies, go out into the city and mess around like hooligans would do. Except that wasn’t the case. His life was never a normal one, and he knew he had to face the inevitable. Even though Sam and Tucker knew better than anyone else how to cheer him up, he could no longer see them.

He thought of Sam, and smiled thoughtfully.

One time, Danny got his ass whipped from a nasty ghost fight and had to bunk it at Sam’s house for a whole weekend. They pulled their excuses to their parents, and Sam managed to pull off the ruse. She was there by his side while his body healed, and comforted him when his stomach decided to retch and vomit remnant of food, blood and ectoplasm. He didn’t remember much of those two days, but he did remember her soft, comforting voice that led him through his struggles.

And Tucker, he couldn’t ask for a better friend. They’ve stuck together like glue. He remembered the time that he and Tucker joined minds and crammed all night for a test. He kept fooling around, and yeah, Danny did too, but he actually understood the material and I’d never felt more prepared for a test. Tucker got a B, and he got a C. Afterwards, the duo celebrated at the Nasty Burger with fries and shakes.

“What do I do?” Danny wondered aloud, pulling out of his memory and back into the present, “after all this, I mean.”

“Not even I know,” Clockwork sighed, approaching him despondently. Now only a single streetlight lit up their features, causing both of their eyes to glow neon in the night. Clockwork clenched his staff, thought a moment, and then spoke.

“My job is to be the very person who brings you home.”

“My home is here, in Amity.”

Clockwork shook his head, “You won’t be home for a very long time.”

It took a minute for Danny to find the words. His mind generated several questions and thoughts, but he was at a loss. He was Danny Phantom, a hero, supposed to protect Amity Park from evil ghosts and people alike. They needed him.

“Danny,” Clockwork resumed, “they will move on. Humans tend to. Through all my years of watching time throughout history, I’ve learned much about humanity. What I have learned is the earth, ghost zone and beyond could be consumed by flames and humans would undoubtedly persevere. That is why they’re so remarkable.”

Resigned, Danny nodded, but then winced.

“Sam, Tucker, they will be so mad when—if I leave,” he corrected himself.

Clockwork smiled knowingly, his gaze reminding Danny of a small, warm flame, “They too will move on. So will you.”

Danny looked away, “Sure.”

Clockwork didn’t understand. What could an isolated, immortal being understand about losing those you love?

The ghost boy faced the master of time. Clockwork’s ever-changing face smiled reassuringly as he shifted into an old man. Clockwork extended his free hand for Danny to hold. Wavering, Danny accepted the offer while Clockwork guided him away from the grave. Daring a glimpse back, Danny read the engraving on the stone.

_Danny Fenton_

_Gone, But Not Forgotten_

Now they were out of the empty cemetery. Clockwork fiddled with the switches on his staff, and a portal burst open before them.

Its colors were vibrant. Blues and greens and grays swirled and mixed together to create a vibrant portal. He stared at the mass of the portal with a feeling of awe. It reminded him of a million galaxies rolled up into one. The portal was breathtaking.

But it was a portal away from home.

“Shall we go?” Clockwork asked beside him.

With one last look at home, Danny stepped into the portal and into the ghost’s realm for good.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading ^^


End file.
